National Office Update: Dec. 30 - Feb. 3

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GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE
The House and Senate returned to Washington for legislative session on Jan. 27.
INFRASTRUCTURE LEGISLATION INTRODUCED
On Jan. 29, House Democrats introduced a $760 billion, five-year infrastructure
package, which outlines major investments in highways, rail, transit, airports,
wastewater, water infrastructure, ports, and harbors. The Democratic package also
includes an aggressive plan to combat climate change, which ranges from making
federal buildings carbon-neutral to transitioning to renewable fuels for aviation, with a
focus on transit and rail as a greener option than automobiles and airplanes and
encouraging the use of more climate-friendly building materials.
House Republicans also introduced infrastructure legislation that contains their own set
of guiding principles, which are more focused on project and permit streamlining, and
addressing the long-term sustainability of the Highway Trust Fund. The Republican
proposal does not include anything about climate change. As the legislative process
surrounding a comprehensive infrastructure bill continues over the coming months,
NATCA will be providing our input to Capitol Hill on key infrastructure priorities that are
most beneficial to our Union.
SUPPORTING PAID PARENTAL LEAVE
NATCA has been working on a technical correction to fix the loophole that inadvertently
excluded FAA employees and five other federal employee workforces in the paid
parental leave proposal enacted in December. We've been working with relevant
committees in the House and Senate to address this, and several bills have been
introduced. While a number of other bills offering partial corrections have been
proposed, we are focusing on a bill that would provide a fix for all six workforces that
were excluded. This legislation was introduced on February 13 by House Committee on
Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., as well as committee
member Carol Miller, R-W.V. This legislation is bipartisan and has 16 original co-
sponsors: eight Democrats and eight Republicans. This bill (H.R. 5885, the Federal
Employee Parental Leave Technical Correction Act) would ensure the six workforces
left out, including the FAA, will receive the 12 weeks of paid parental leave just like
other federal employees. NATCA is urging members of Congress to support H.R. 5885
and is working with House leadership and the House Oversight and Reform Committee
to advance this legislation out of committee and to the floor for a House vote.
H.R. 1108/S. 762 CONTINUE TO GAIN SUPPORT
H.R. 1108 has continued to gain support from both Democrats and Republicans and
now has 277 co-sponsors. Co-sponsors can continue to be added to H.R. 1108 until the
T&I Committee files an official "Committee Report," which is a document accompanying
a bill that has been reported from a committee. The report contains an explanation of
the provisions of the bill, arguments for its approval, votes held in markup, individual